Sneak Peek

I thought I'd share some sneak peeks of new designs which I'm saving to debut at Mayfest. The first necklace above is one design of many that will be made in this same style. I will be offering this design in 14K gold-fill (as shown) as well as sterling silver in various color combinations. Different color roses will be paired with beautiful freshwater pearls in a few different shades. The chocolaty brown freshwater pearls used in this particular necklace are so rich and warm and gorgeous! I think this particular color combination would be so dreamy on someone with a golden complexion.

This next design is one of my luxe pieces featuring freshwater pearls and gemstones. I have paired a gorgeous smokey quartz briolette with a gorgeous cluster of freshwater keishi pearls. I have meticulously connected each and every keishi pearl to the delicate sterling silver chain with handmade (by me) fine silver head pins. Each pearl is securely connected so this beautiful cluster will last a lifetime and beyond.

I really love this design as it pairs two of my favorite materials to work with: smokey quartz and freshwater keishi pearls. The bridal earrings I designed for my wedding featured a gorgeous cascade of these same keishi pearls, so they have a special place in my heart. I adore the way center-cut keishi pearls are like little abstract flowers. When they are top drilled, they look like little rose petals. I am crazy about their uniquely organic shape and their gorgeous nacre.

I'm am planning on designing a pair of matching earrings to make the necklace part of a set. I think it would make a beautiful, sophisticated gift for Mother's Day.

Vintage China Love

As promised, I'm back to share photos of the gorgeous vintage china and napkins I purchased at Street Scene yesterday. This set of eight cups and saucers (with matching lace-edged napkins no less!) caught my eye immediately and I was hooked. I would have been heart broken had I not purchased the set. And the price was fantastic! I love the unusually large size of the cups, they would be perfect to serve everything from coffee to soup to ice cream to homemade granola, in this case. Honestly, I will be eating anything and everything possible out of these gorgeous cups! I am absolutely crazy about the cheerful blue and green rose pattern. It's feminine without being overly sweet, if you know what I mean. This set really makes me want to have an outdoor dinner party with a table full of gorgeous blue and green and white accents.

The vintage china is always my biggest weakness when I visit Street Scene. With my current kitchen situation (we hardly have ANY cabinet space), I really shouldn't be building a collection of vintage china. However, sometimes there are some pieces that I just can't pass up. Thankfully my jewelry has been selling like hot cakes at Street Scene, so I don't feel quite so naughty when I treat myself to a little something when I stop in to replenish my stock.

Unfortunately there are no markings on the china so I have no clue the age or maker of the set. I'd love to know if the pieces were part of a larger set. I would kill to have a whole set of china with this gorgeous rose print. If anyone knows anything about this particular set or knows of any great resources for researching china, do tell!

Ruffled

In the middle of my preparations for upcoming art fairs, I am frantically trying to redesign my booth setup for the season. I created my own fitted tablecloths last year, but after a full show season, they are ready to be retired. This year, I am thinking RUFFLES!

I have been obsessed with the image of the crisp white ruffled tablecloth with sunny yellow accents from Country Living since I first saw it earlier in the month. I love how fresh and cheerful it is while being utterly and perfectly feminine! I'm torn about the white; however, since I'm not sure how practical a white tablecloth would be for one outdoor event after another. Though, on the other hand, I have heard that white is really the best color for items that see a lot of use since they can be easily bleached or OxiCleaned back to their original beauty. I am smitten with the idea of a clean white tent, gorgeous white ruffled tablecloths and various candy-colored pastel accents. I currently have all my display pieces colored bright white, but it would be so fun to change a few to sunny yellow or aqua or petal pink for a bit of playful interest.

The next tablecloth inspiration was handmade by Andrea Singarella of Everyday Beauty. She repurposed a ruffled shower curtain to create this adorable tea-stained tablecloth. The more ruffled tablecloths I see, the more convinced I am that this is the look I am going for this year with my display. I have a feeling it is going to be a real pain to sew two six-foot by three-foot floor-length ruffled tablecloths entirely from scratch. I'm afraid sewing them from scratch is my only option to keep the cost low and to get the perfect fit I desire. If anyone has any cost-effect yet time saving tricks, please send them my way!

Back in Stock!

Just a little update for those who were interested, The Prancing Peacock Earrings are now back in shop and available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Today I took new designs to Street Scene in Lexington. Of course I couldn't resist being a little naughty as well... I bought the most beautiful vintage eight-piece mug and saucer set with matching napkins, lined in lace! I'll be sure to share a photo of the set soon.

I'll be updating my stock at Calypso, Kolors, and ReBelle in the next couple days as well. After that I'll be focusing all my attention on preparing stock for Mayfest. I'll be adding some new items in my shop in the following weeks and will be posting little peaks at new designs which I'll be saving for Mayfest. Stay tuned for that!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

I had been planning to bake cupcakes today since earlier in the week. The hubby has friends over nearly every Sunday afternoon and I often use them as test subjects for my baking. So this afternoon, despite a pounding headache and fever, I couldn't wait to try out a new chocolate cupcake recipe.

I have this issue with most chocolate cake recipes. The most moist chocolate cakes always have annoyingly thin batters, which are great if you're baking a layer cake as they tend to bake up nice and flat--no leveling the layers; but, if you're going for adorably domed cupcakes, they don't deliver. I'm on a mission to discover a go-to recipe for chocolate cupcakes that produces a flavorful, moist batter and a pleasantly sweet rounded top. A recipe that produces 12 or fewer cupcakes is also a plus.

I received Julie Hasson's 125 Best Cupcake Recipes from the hubby for my birthday last summer. I immediately read through the cookbook and was intrigued by several of the recipes. Unfortunately I tend to turn to TasteSpotting, FoodGawker or All Recipes first when I'm looking for a recipe and my cookbooks are often neglected. I can't believe it took me almost a year to finally try one of the recipes from this book!

Julie Hasson's book is beautifully organized and nearly every recipe in the book yields 12 cupcakes--perfect! Each cupcake recipe is followed by a few suggestions on which frosting to pair with the cake. Today I made the Best Chocolate Cupcakes and paired them with the Chocolate Fudge Frosting. The result was a rich, decadent chocolate experience! Both the cupcake and frosting recipe were simple, straightforward and yielded delicious results. For now I am thankful to finally have a chocolate cupcake recipe I adore, but I can't wait to try more of the recipes from the book.


Best Chocolate Cupcakes
from Julie Hasson's 125 Best Cupcake Recipes
yields 12 cupcakes*

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted**
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl whisk together sugar, oil, egg and vanilla until smooth. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until batter is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.

Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 22 to 27 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.

*I made 6 regular sized cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes. I baked the mini cupcakes for 13 minutes and the regular sized cupcakes for 22 minutes.

**I used King Arthur Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa for the deepest, darkest, most chocolaty experience!

Chocolate Fudge Frosting
adapted from Julie Hasson's 125 Best Cupcake Recipes
yields about 1 1/2 cups*

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons milk
pinch of salt

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, butter, milk and salt until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Spread onto cooled cupcakes or pipe with a decorator bag and preferred tip.

*Since I like a heaping swirl of frosting atop my cupcakes, this was only enough frosting to frost half the cupcakes (24 mini cupcakes). I would suggest doubling this recipe is you plan to generously frost 12 cupcakes.

I used a Wilton 1M tip to frost these cupcakes.

The Great Granola Experiment of 2010

{Please excuse the sad looking, hand-me-down table.}

This afternoon I made a triple batch of the Easy Homemade Granola I posted about last Tuesday. Halfway through baking the granola, I decided to do a little experiment. In the past I have often used unsweetened applesauce in place of oil when making granola. I decided to make a single batch of the Easy Homemade Granola substituting all of the oil for unsweetened applesauce to do a side-by-side comparison of the original recipe and the oil-free version.

After the granola baked and cooled, I did a comparison of the look, texture, and taste of each batch. As seen above and in the following photograph, the original version of the granola (in the larger bowl on the left) was a bit darker in color than the oil-free version, though both were baked for the same length of time. The oil-free version, not surprisingly, had a faint apple flavor while the original version had a satisfying deep, toasted flavor. The oil-free version formed fewer clusters, and the ones that did form were less crisp and crunchy than the clusters of the original version. Overall, I must say that I preferred the pleasantly toasty flavor and crunchy texture of the original granola over the oil-free version, though the oil-free granola was certainly yummy and would be a great option for those looking for a healthier option. I'm curious to see how substituting some, but not all, of the oil for unsweetened applesauce would affect the recipe.

I kept my camera with me in the kitchen while I was baking, taking photos of each step in putting the granola together.


Oats, cinnamon and salt are tossed together in a large bowl.

Oil (or unsweetened applesauce, if using), honey, brown sugar, and vanilla extract are whisked together in a medium bowl until combined.

The mixture will be thick if using oil and relatively thin if using unsweetened applesauce.

The honey mixture is poured over the oats and thoroughly combined.


The mixture is spread out onto parchment-lined baking sheets and placed in a 325 degree oven.

10 minutes later, sliced almonds, walnuts, and pecans are sprinkled on top.

The mixture is returned to the oven and baked for 15 more minutes, flipping the granola at least once.

The baked granola will be several shades darker than it was before baking.

Once completely cool, add the raisins and cherries and store in an air tight container.

Get the recipe here.

The Prancing Peacock

I designed these earrings yesterday evening and am absolutely head over heels crazy about them! I ordered these vintage peacock cabochons, not entirely sure what I'd use them for. I had also ordered these vintage inspired dahlia cabochons around the same time, intending to use them for studs, bobby pins or rings. When I saw them laid out on my work table yesterday and was struck by how perfectly they paired together! I couldn't be more in love with the outcome of this design. The peacock cabochons have such a gorgeous detail and paired with the dahlia cabochons, I feel there is something so perfectly 1970s about this design. It feels retro and modern at the same time and something about the majesticness of the peacocks and the richness of the blue feels very royal. I think these would make such a perfect eclectic pairing to a cocktail dress for a night on the town.

I only have two pairs of the earrings made at the moment and both were quickly spoken for via my Facebook fan page where I showed a sneak peak of the design in progress yesterday evening. I'm will be ordering more of the components for these earrings and should have plenty more available soon. I'll post when I have them available in my Etsy shop. In the mean time, if you'd like me to reserve a pair for you when I have them ready, leave me a little comment!

Easy Homemade Granola

I've been in the mood for some homemade granola for the past few weeks. I had been in a real granola mood several months back and made a batch every week, having it for breakfast and sometimes lunch each and every day. Needless to say, I got a little burned out on granola (it probably didn't help that I made every batch from the same recipe). When I checked Baked: New Frontiers in Baking out of the library back in January, I had seen a recipe for Easy Homemade Granola that I was curious to try. It was similar to the recipe I had been using but differed just enough to interest me.

I picked up the necessary ingredients on Sunday and threw this granola together last night. This recipe is quick and simple. I threw the entire batch together in the time it took my oven to preheat. With minimal effort and dirty dishes, I was on my way to cinnamon-scented bliss.

I filled my granola with slivered almonds, walnuts, pecans and just a tiny bit of golden raisins and cherries (I'm not a big fan of most dried fruit, so I add mine in moderation). The great thing about granola is it's so easy to customize according to what you like. This granola was delicious! The recipe makes a small batch but could easily be doubled, tripled, etc. as needed. I made a single batch this time to try out the recipe, but I plan to make a triple batch when I make this again so as to have plenty around for the week.

My favorite way to enjoy homemade granola is still warm from the oven, drowned with cold skim milk. I love the contrast of the warm, crunchy granola with the cold milk. It's also fantastic with yogurt and/or fresh fruit. Homemade granola is a breeze to make and you can control all the ingredients. You'll never buy the store bought stuff again.


Easy Homemade Granola
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup golden raisins/cherries (I used a blend by Sun-Maid)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, toss the oats with cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined.

Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them. Gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture.

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the almonds, walnuts, and pecans over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Return the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let cool completely. Sprinkle the raisins and cherries over the granola and use your hands to transfer it to an airtight container. The granola will keep for 1 week.

Lilac Dreams

I created this necklace a while back. I was sort of saving it for Mayfest, then today I had a sweet customer contact me looking for a purple necklace as a birthday present for friend. I shared this design with her and she loved it! I shared the photo on my Facebook fan page this evening and another one of my wonderful customers inquired about it. I was only able to create two of these necklaces as the gorgeous soft purple vintage rose cabochons were a pair. I have been crazy about the colors in this design since I created it, and with both necklaces being snatched up the day I revealed the design, it seems others are just as crazy about it. I think the lilac of the vintage cameo paired with the almost watercolor look of the purple rose is perfect. I'm sure I'll be creating a similar version of this necklace, with a slightly different rose accent, in the near future.

Marie Antoinette

I have been a busy bee in the studio today. I've been preparing some raw brass charms to send off to a plating company which I am very excited about! Up until now many of my designs have only been available in gold as I tend to work with a lot of brass charms and findings. Now that I'm having a lot of my favorite charms plated in sterling silver and other finishes, I'll be able to offer more color choices and new variations on old designs. I am so excited to have more variety available for Mayfest this year!

I have also been working on new designs for all the stores I consign with in Lexington. I plan to have my supply restocked at all the shops next week and will focus on updating my shop after that. Things have been a bit crazy keeping up with my consignment sales and trying to build my stock for Mayfest and other upcoming shows (I practically sold out of stock both days at Mayfest last year, so I'm really preparing this year!) that I've kind of neglected my Etsy shop. I really want to get the shop ready for spring and summer. I promise I'll get on that asap and will let you know when new items are hitting the shelves, so to speak. I'm also planning a little giveaway and a sale to welcome spring once the shop is looking a bit more full!

The darling Marie Antoinette cameos above are destined to become sweet and delicate necklaces. I will only have a few available for the time being, but I hope to make them a permanent part of my collection as I adore them!

Teacups and Cupcakes

I just stumbled upon this adorable new product via Bake it Pretty and fell in love! TeaCupCakes are adorable silicone molds in the shape of teacups in which you cake bake the most darling cupcakes. I've seen tons of folks place baked cupcakes inside teacups for tea parties and the like, but this takes it to a whole new level! I think these are such a cute idea.

Glitz and Glam Bridesmaid Necklaces

I designed this necklace yesterday to be worn with my Glam Stud Earrings by four bridesmaids in an upcoming Australian wedding. I wanted to create something simple, glamorous and fashionable that would look stunning on the bridesmaids while being subtle enough to not steal any of the spotlight from the blushing bride. I love that the design is delicate but still has plenty of interest from the luster of the freshwater pearls and the sparkle of the Swarovksi crystals. And the vintage silver plated rose cabochon is stunning. You really have to see the necklaces in person to see how the light sparkles off the crystals, it's subtle but beautiful.

I love making brides happy and giving bridesmaids gorgeous jewelry to wear at the wedding and to cherish for years after.

I'll have s'more, please.

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I was able to spend some time in the kitchen yesterday making vanilla bean marshmallows and graham crackers which were destined to become some seriously delicious s'mores. I shared my desire to make these last week after I had been drooling over the homemade graham crackers that Shauna of Piece of Cake made back in February. Shauna's graham cracker recipe is a bit different than your typical graham cracker. I would describe them as having an almost shortbread texture and flavor but, with the use of brown sugar, honey, cinnamon and bit of whole wheat flour, have a much deeper flavor. Rolled thin and baked crisp, these graham crackers have a great "snap" when bitten into and a hardier texture than the fragile store-bought variety.

I made vanilla bean marshmallows, a variation on the usual Martha recipe I always use, to pair with the graham crackers. I decided to cut mine into little rounds to mimic the darling marshmallows at Miette. To toast the marshmallows for the s'mores, I pierced mine with a bamboo skewer and toasted them right over the flame on my gas stove. I have a feeling they could just as easily be toasted over the flame of a candle. How cute would it be to have some friends over to watch your favorite show and make s'mores over a big pillar candle? Can you imagine?! The graham crackers and marshmallows could also be packaged together with a bar of chocolate, a few bamboo skewers and a candle for the sweetest gift ever. Yum!

Homemade Graham Crackers
Adapted from Miette Patisserie, San Francisco via Piece of Cake

The key to getting the crispiest cookies with an awesome "snap" is to roll the dough very thin--try for as close to 1/8 of an inch as you can. This is a very buttery, soft dough--be sure to chill it completely before rolling and then again chilling the cut cookies well before baking them, otherwise they will be maddeningly difficult to work with and will spread during baking.

Makes about 4 dozen 2 1/2-inch cookies*

2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar**
1/4 cup honey
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Position an oven rack to the center position and preheat it to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Whisk together flour, wheat flour, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and brown sugar, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, and beat in the honey. Stir in dry ingredients on low speed. Scrape the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat it into a disc, wrap well. Refrigerate until firm but still pliable, about one hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out very thin, about an 1/8-inch thick (you can gather the dough scraps and reroll as necessary). Cut out cookies with a 2 to 3-inch cookie cutter and place on the prepared baking sheets, a dozen per sheet. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired. Chill the cut cookies on the sheets for at least 15 minutes before baking. Bake 14 to 16 minutes until golden. Let the cookies set for a minute before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for a week or more.

*I use a 2 1/4-inch scalloped cutter and got about 60 cookies.
**I used light brown sugar as my dark brown had turned all dry and crumbly.

Vanilla Bean Marshmallows
adapted from Martha Stewart

makes about 40 marshmallows*

2 1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin (3 packages)
1 cup cold water, divided
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or seeds of 1 vanilla bean

Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment. Let stand while you make the syrup mixture.

Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small heavy saucepan; place over low heat, and stir until sugar has dissolved. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals.

Clip on a candy thermometer; raise heat to high. Cook syrup without stirring until it reaches 244 degrees.(firm-ball stage). Immediately remove pan from heat.

With mixer on low speed, slowly and carefully pour syrup into the softened gelatin. Increase speed to high; beat until mixture is very thick and white and has almost tripled in volume, about 15 minutes. Add vanillas; beat to incorporate.

Grease and generously dust a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with confectioners’ sugar. Pour marshmallow mixture into pan, spreading it into corners and smoothing the surface. Dust with confectioners’ sugar; let stand at least 4 hours or up to overnight, uncovered, to dry out. Turn out onto a board; cut marshmallows with a dry hot knife into 1 1/2-inch squares, and dust with more confectioners' sugar. Store in an air tight container for a week or more.

*I cut mine using a 1 1/2-inch cutter and got 54 round marshmallows plus scraps for snacking.

On the Front Page of All Recipes Again!

Click to enlarge.

My Oreo Truffles were voted the one of the Favorite Photos on All Recipes today! It's so neat to see your photo and creation on the front page of a website that isn't of your own creation. This happened once before back in November after I made the Halloween Spiderweb Cookies. It's such a small, fleeting thing but it brightens my day!

My Truffles

Click photos to view larger.

As I mentioned in my last post, I was up until 4am last night making some darling Oreo and Nutter Butter Truffles for the hubby to take for a Pi Day celebration in his History of Mathematics class. Now you're probably thinking I'm crazy for staying up so late for some truffles, but after spending the past four days working on taxes, I needed a break. My way of relaxing and letting my hair down, so to speak, is to enjoy some alone time in the kitchen making something cute. These truffles were therapy. Delicious, adorable therapy.

And, yes, I do feel better now. Thank you for asking. :)

The innards of a Nutter Butter Truffle are simple and modest and absolutely delish. Ground Nutter Butter cookies are mixed with cream cheese and rolled into perfect little balls (or really any shape you desire). I dipped mine in chocolate bark, because you cannot go wrong when peanut butter and chocolate meet.

I decorated them with pale orange flowers which I handmade from gum paste. The coated truffles also got a little decoration with melted and piped orange candy melts and almond bark. I really like the soft springy orange contrasted against the warm brown. It's pale and feminine and lovely for spring.

I was tired by the time I got around to piping the details and didn't take my time so they were a bit messy. I didn't get too creative with these; I mostly just repeated a few different designs. Some truffles were given a simple striped decoration, others were given cute little spirals. I love the little guy in the front--kind of reminds me of plaid.

My Wilton gum paste gave me some trouble with the flowers. I find the premade gum paste to be quite dry and difficult to work with. I am never able to really manipulate my flowers any after they are cut. And darling roses are out of the question. Since I don't have much experience with gum paste I don't know if I got a particularly old/dry bag of gum paste or what. I'm planning to try making my own gum paste from scratch soon for comparison. I'd love to just sit down at the table on a lazy Saturday and listen to music and make gum paste flowers all day long!

Now friends, this deep, dark ball of gorgeousness is an Oreo Truffle. So good you would think you'd died and gone to heaven. So so so good!

The Oreo Truffles got coated in almond bark and decorated with pink candy melts and pale purple gum paste flowers which I gave a bit of shimmer to by painting them with edible luster dust. If you click on the photo, you may notice a little shimmer on the front truffle there. I left a couple of the truffles plain and added a bit of sparkle to their white exteriors. A little subtle fanciness, you might say.

While I loved the soft, girly colors of the Oreo Truffles, I was definitely more fond of the color and contrast of the Nutter Butter Truffles. These feel a bit one-dimensional next to the other truffles.

Still cute though. And oh so yummy! Mmmm... so yummy! It's a good thing I only saved one of each as a sacrifice (i.e. to be cut in half for photographic purposes). One of the hubby's classmates claimed, "These have changed my life forever!" They may be simple and a breeze to make, but these truffles are seriously good eats.